Tombstone Tourism: The Third Annual Middlesex Centre Archives Cemetery Tour

Yes, it's that wonderful time of year again, when graveyard geeks like myself take an official bus tour to local cemeteries. I say "official" because some of us indulge in our own personal cemetery tours year-round (except during the depths of winter when the stones are covered in snow). The third annual Middlesex Centre Archives Cemetery Tour, held on October 4, featured three cemeteries, one in each of the historic townships (Delaware, Lobo, and London) that make up today's Middlesex Centre. For highlights from last year's tour, see here.

Creepy, you say? Don't be a cemetery cynic. Burial grounds are interesting indeed! 

Our tour started in Oakland Cemetery, located in the village of Delaware on Millcreek Lane. This cemetery was founded when Christ Church Cemetery, also in Delaware, became full in the 1880s. The church opened what was first known as the "New Cemetery" in the northeast part of the village. Later, it was renamed Oakland, and today, it's operated by the Diocese of Huron.

I should mention that tour organizers, including our guide, Krista, outdid themselves in providing information about persons buried at each of the sites.  At Oakland, archives volunteer Sid Prior placed biographical signs on various graves, just as he did last year when the group visited Christ Church Cemetery. This had the effect of bringing the dead to life - figuratively, anyway - by letting us know who they were and what they did. No longer were they just names on monuments. 

An example of Sid's research is below, at the grave of James A. Hughson, M.D., his wife, Fanny, and daughter, Arletta:

A close-up of the sign placed beside the grave describes Dr. H.'s early days on a local farm, his medical education at U. of T., career in Buffalo, meeting Fanny on a house call to her mother, the birth of Arletta in South Dakota, return to Delaware, purchase of an estate in Buffalo, and eventual death at Homewood Sanitarium in Guelph. 

A close-up of an interesting advertisement from Buffalo indicates the good doctor could cure many afflictions!

Another bio, for an English emigrant with the distinguished name of Albion Parfitt. ("Albion" is a poetic term for England.)

Mr. Parfitt's career was more local, since he was a merchant in Delaware. His sign is below, decorated with a few morning dewdrops:

The Parfitts were fond of a Latin phrase. I love the sound of Latin myself so I was interested in a nearby monument to Charles Parfitt that reads Beati Mundo Corde ("Blessed are the pure in heart" from the Beatitudes, Matthew 5:8.)

For Charles' wife Caroline, Terar Dum Prosim ("May I be consumed in service.")

Also of interest are monuments to former soldiers, such as William Richard Lowthian (1896-1924), son of Richard V. Lowthian and Edith Brown. William served in the 15th Battalion of the C.E.F. in World War I but died of tuberculosis at Queen Alexandra Sanatorium. His monument reads Pro Patria Mortus est ("He died for freedom and honour"). Perhaps he first became ill in Europe.

Below is a monument to Francis E. Jickels, a member of the Woodmen of the World, whose insignia is on his grave marker. The Woodmen of the World was a fraternal benefit society founded in 1890, which provided insurance and support to its members, including life insurance and a tombstone for those deceased. Note the organization's own Latin motto, Dum Tacet Clamet ("Though silent, he speaks"). Mr. Jickels belonged to Lambeth Camp. No. 102, the word "camp" being reminiscent of a woodmen's lumber camp.

A log or tree stump, sometimes known as a "treestone," usually signifies a life cut short, as in the case of Samuel George Winterbottom, who died in 1912, aged 17. According to a record in ancestry.ca, he died of appendicitis. 

A couple of sweet "hearts" mark the graves of Glen and Vera Prior. How romantic!

Members of the Masonic Lodge also have their insignia on their grave markers, as in the example below. I think the bow next to Verna's name means she was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, an association aligned with Freemasonry. 

The earliest grave in the "New Cemetery" is that of Marianne Osborne Girdlestone (1836-88). She was the wife of  Charles Fox, who is buried nearby.

Next the tour visited Old Campbell Cemetery on Oxbow Drive near Komoka, in the former Lobo Township. First established in 1837 on the farm of John Campbell, Sr., the cemetery was expanded twice, once in 1919 and again in 1968. And, yes, there is a "new" Campbell Cemetery nearby.

Below is the grave of John Campbell, Sr., who arrived in Lobo in 1825 and died here in 1837. Originally from Inverary, Argyleshire, Scotland, Campbell bought 300 acres of "wild land" just east of Komoka from a man named Secord who lived in London. Campbell's was the first burial here, and, while his stone is eroded, it's still legible:

The monument that most stands out here is this "Guardian Angel" in memory of a mother and daughter. Angels can symbolize so much: spiritual guidance, protection, and grief. The outstretched hand may signify the ascent to heaven, the bowed head sorrow, and the wings flight. 

An orb or sphere, such as the one below, may represent eternity, as well as the cyclical nature of life and death: 

So aggravating when a grave marker becomes obstructed by nature - in this case, an overgrown tree. This photo is the best I could do for the Rev. Richard Marshall and his wife, Susan. Marshall, a Baptist minister, came from England in 1885; his wife came in 1886. Their grey sandstone altar-type grave should be uncovered by family, a Baptist congregation, or the "Friends of Old Campbell Cemetery," although the latter organization is a product of my imagination.

Stephen Moore, Earl of Mount Cashell, was an unusual member of the aristocracy in that he migrated to the wilds of Upper Canada. Graduating from Trinity College, Cambridge, with an MA in 1812, he later became a Fellow of the Royal Society. While in Switzerland, he met his wife, Anna Marie Wyse. In 1833 they came to Lobo with their large brood of children. Through an agent, the Earl bought a 1,000 acre estate including Thames-front property. They lived in a large house known as the "castle," which would also have housed family servants. The name of the nearby village of Kilworth came from the family title of Lord Kilworth, the eldest son, who was only eight when the family arrived. The monument below is to Jane, wife of the Earl's third son, Hon. George Francis Moore.

The tour stopped for lunch at Kilworth United Church. No, the church hasn't been converted into a gourmet restaurant; it's still a church. But members of the church did provide tea and coffee while we ate bagged lunches in the church hall. Then they gave us a talk about the church's history. 

View of Kilworth United Church on a greeting card. Photo by Ron Watson.

Built in 1850, Kilworth is one of the oldest churches - if not buildings - in the area. Founded as an Episcopal Methodist Church, it became part of the United Church in 1925. You may have passed by this structure on Oxford St. W., just west of Byron, many times without noticing it, since it's almost hidden from the road by numerous trees. The building is constructed of stone walls two feet thick. Many are hand-hewn rocks from the nearby Wishing Well spring. Traditionally, those who looked closely would find fossils in the rocks, although erosion has made these more difficult to find. 

The building has many updates, especially to its heat and lighting, but its sanctuary is still the plain, simple interior the Methodist settlers would have preferred:

The final cemetery on the tour was Littlewood Cemetery on Twelve Mile Road north of Ilderton in the former London Township. Here, historian Glenn Scarborough gave us an overview of the site's history. 

As with many other cemeteries, there was once a church nearby. A Wesleyan Methodist congregation was established in the area in 1847, and a brick church was built nearby on the farm of John Littlewood, who arrived in the area in 1828. This church was replaced in 1875 by a larger brick structure that was eventually moved to Mill Street in Ilderton in 1892, and burned in 1910. Today, the cemetery is in the care of Ilderton United Church. 

In the 1940s, a marble triangle with the name of the 1875 church was found in the Scarborough family blacksmith shop. This cairn with a bronze plaque was erected in 1988 to tell the story of the Littlewood churches and cemetery, and the triangle was added to the upper part of the cairn. If you notice that it's not quite a "triangle," that's because, according to Glenn, the piece broke when it was being moved, and the other bottom corner was sliced off to make it symmetrical. 

In 1965, a half-acre was purchased to expand this cemetery. It remains open for burials, and some of the graves are quite recent. I, of course, am most interested in the pioneers.

Take John Littlewood, for example. Born in 1775 in Moffat, Scotland, as one of 13 children, he reportedly left home at an early age and ran away to join the navy. And not just any ship either. He apparently served on the HMS Victory under Lord Nelson. What stories he must have had about the old days and the great commander! He didn't share them with his descendants, however, because he never married. Instead, he took an interest in developing the local community, which is no doubt why he donated land for a Wesleyan church and parsonage. (The latter building was eventually moved to Birr.) Littlewood lived to the extraordinary age of 104. According to Glenn, this was because he was a bachelor, a suggestion we ladies pooh-poohed. Littlewood must have been strong to survive such an adventurous, hard life. 

The first burial here is that of John Armstrong, also born in the eighteenth century. He and his wife, Rebekah Cotnem (1786-1856), came to Upper Canada from the Lake Champlain district of New York State. This broken monument appears to be for John:

But a newer one has been placed nearby:

In 1930, when Fletcher Charlton died, his heirs decided to donate his estate to the cemetery. The funds allowed a wrought iron fence to be built across the front with the gate posts below:

Two young men who died in World War II are commemorated on their parents' grave markers at Littlewood. Flying Officer John Robert Paisley went missing over the North Sea on May 17, 1942, and was later presumed dead. Born in Ilderton, "Jack" attended London's Central Collegiate and Normal School, and taught school back in Ilderton and up at Thedford before joining up in July 1940. He also played hockey for the Ilderton village hockey team. He is memorialized at Runnymede Memorial, UK.

Also, Sgt. AG John Lewis Sparling (1923-1943), who first attempted to join the Air Force in 1940 but was declined, being underage. He finally enlisted at London in November 1941, just after his 18th birthday. On a night mission on January 21-22, 1943, he left on a mine-laying mission with four other officers. They left from the coast of the Netherlands near the Zuider Zee in a Wellington bomber and never returned. Also remembered at Runnymede. Note that his parents had already suffered a previous disaster in the death of another son, Robert, who drowned while swimming in the Thames.

Most of the information above comes from the day's excellent tour guides and the handouts they gave out. Those looking for further information are recommended to look at ancestry.ca and the following publications:

Gibb, Alice, ed. London Township: A Rich Heritage 1796-1997. London Township History Book Committee, 2001.

Grainger, Jennifer, ed. Delaware and Westminster Townships: Honouring Our Roots. Delaware/ Westminster History Book Committee, 2006.

The Heritage of Lobo 1820-1990. Lobo Township Heritage Group, 1990.

Tombstone Tourism: The Middlesex Centre Archives Second Annual Cemetery Tour

On October 5, I attended Middlesex County Archives' Second Annual Cemetery Tour. Since I missed last year's trip, I really looked forward to the 2024 edition and this day of cemetery sightseeing did not disappoint. 

My friend and I are such keen Tombstone Tourists that we arrived absurdly early. But that was fine, since it gave us an opportunity to visit one of last year's graveyards while we awaited the start of this year's tour. 

Tiffany Cemetery

Across Gideon Road from Middlesex County Archives is Tiffany Cemetery, named after Gideon Tiffany who's buried there. (Yes, the road is named after him too.) It was Tiffany who donated land for this cemetery over 200 years ago and some burials did take place as early as 1805, like the sign says. 

Tiffany was one of those early pioneers who did some of everything. Despite being an American from New Hampshire, he went to Niagara to become King's Printer for Upper Canada in 1794. Later, in 1799, with his brother Silvester, he began publishing the Canada Constellation, Upper Canada's first independent newspaper. 

Perhaps Tiffany tired of the news business. In 1801, he purchased 2,200 acres in Delaware Township from Ebenezer Allan, taking over two sawmills owned by the latter. In the wilds of Delaware, he and his brother-in-law, Moses Brigham, produced lumber for the Detroit market. The village of Delaware was surveyed by Gideon's brother Oliver in the mid-1820s in hopes of it becoming the administrative and judicial seat of the London District. (No such luck.) For 30 years, Tiffany served in various township offices, including assessor and overseer of roads and fences. He also became a lieutenant in the 1st Middlesex Militia. Years later, he took the losing side in the 1837 Rebellion and was jailed for it ... but was tried and acquitted in 1838. 

As his gravemarker (right) states, he was born in 1774, came to Delaware in 1801, and died there aged 80 in 1854. He's buried with his wife, Ruth Tomlinson, who he married in about 1802 and who lived until 1850. The couple had five children who survived to adulthood. 

More information about this legendary pioneer can be found in this bio by another local legend, historian Dan Brock. 

Christ Church Pioneer Cemetery

At last the official tour began. The first official stop on this year's tour was back across the street, next to the Archives building. The land for this burial ground was donated by Dr. Oliver Tiffany in 1834. There was a frame church, Christ Church Anglican, on this site as early as the 1830s. Progress dictated that it should be replaced by a brick building in 1885. Alas, the era of church building is over and the age of church demolition has begun. Christ Church was demolished in 1999, leaving a large gap in the centre of the cemetery. 

The tour organizers outdid themselves in providing information. Archives volunteer Sid Prior placed signs on various graves with bios of the deceased. This had the effect of bringing the dead to life - figuratively, anyway - by letting us know who they were. No longer were they just names on a marker. 

Numerous gravemarkers are toppled over here. Rumour has it that, in another Anglican cemetery, a child was killed by a falling marker. To prevent this from happening at Christ Church, reps from the Diocese of Huron came out here and knocked over various monuments. It seems unlikely that the church itself would deliberately vandalize Christian graves to prevent accidental deaths (or lawsuits) and yet these tombstones are in worse condition than in most local cemeteries. If these were my relatives, I'd be quite annoyed. BTW, I've contacted the diocese about this but, to date, I've had no response. 

Our bus tour took us to Poplar Hill Baptist Church for lunch. Actually, we brought our own lunches but the church ladies served us tea and coffee in the church hall and opened the sanctuary for us to have a look. 

Poplar Hill Baptist Church is still active.

Close-up of painted balcony railing.

Wrought iron on pew.

Poplar Hill Cemetery

This is a biggie, the largest cemetery in the former Lobo Township, being four acres with a couple of acres in reserve. The first burial here was that of John McLellan in 1841:

But there are more Zavitz graves here than anybody else - 133 in total.* This infant is only one:

Below is a marker of "white bronze," many of which are scattered in cemeteries throughout southwestern Ontario. Actually, the markers are pure zinc, the colour is achieved by applying a chemical oxidizing agent. The result seems to be indestructible, free from corrosion, doesn't grow moss or lichen, doesn't absorb moisture and is unaffected by frost. The markers might have been made by the White Bronze Monument Company of St. Thomas, in business ca. 1883-1900 but not all markers have the maker's name. 

A "white bronze" marker is typically an obelisk, like this one with funerary urn up top.

Another interesting detail. Name plates like the one below could be removed to provide access to a hollow interior, giving rise to legends of markers being used by bootleggers to store liquor during Prohibition.**A more prosaic explanation is that the nameplates could be removed to be corrected or added to, if necessary.

Why aren't there more of these markers? Were they expensive or just too newfangled for stodgy Victorians?

Next, a couple of military men:

Asa John Patterson, son of Neil Patterson and Martha Coates, was born October 12, 1895. He enlisted in Strathroy on November 26, 1915. In A. Co. 135th Battalion. Died at Vimy Ridge April 9, 1917. Actual burial place is Nine Elms Military Cemetery north of Arras, France.

Private Leonard J. Smith, 4th Battalion CEF. Born on September 29, 1898 in Lobo Township, son of Judson Albert Smith and Loretta Ellen Quackenbush. He served in World War I but died in London at Westminster Hospitl of myocarditis, March 18, 1939, aged 40.

Interesting Sinclair family stone:

Note metal plate covering cavity on the right.

Empty. For a souvenir of the deceased? Original or added later?

By the way, our guide at Poplar Hill, Larry Griffith, informed us that Poplar Hill Cemetery saw a botched attempt at grave robbery in about 1902. The culprits were probably medical students looking for fresh cadavers. $50 was spent on ads in the London Free Press and London Advertiser newspapers offering a reward to apprehend the culprits but the reward was apparently unclaimed. How macabre.

St. John's Anglican Cemetery, Arva

Our third stop of the day was St. John's Anglican Church and Cemetery, southwest corner of Richmond Street and Medway Road. The land for the church and cemetery was donated by John Fraleigh way back when the roads were called Proof Line and Concession 7. A frame church was built in 1823 and the current church on the site in 1875. The village of Arva, by the way, was once known as St. John's, same as the church but, when a post office opened here in 1852, it was named Arva after a community in Ireland.

Early photo of the original St. John's Church, Arva. Reprint from the author's collection.

Interior, St. John's Anglican, Arva.

Grave of Rev. Charles Crosbie Brough, St. John's minister 1841-83. The north London neighbourhood of Broughdale was named for this family. 

A great many Shoebottoms in this cemetery, including this infant who lived 21 days.

An attractive row of Ardill graves.

Perhaps of greatest interest at Arva is a cairn moved here from another location. White Church Cemetery was located south of Fanshawe Park Road on the east side of Wonderland (formerly Concession 5 and Cameron Sideroad). In 1934, some burials were re-interred under a stone cairn built to display them. (Others burials couldn't be identified since their wooden markers had become illegible.) In the early 1990s, Fanshawe was widened and this cairn was professionally dismantled to be reassembled at Arva. 

If you're wondering how many human remains were left at Fanshawe and Wonderland, you're not alone. This is no one's fault. Some graves would not have had markers, older wooden markers had decayed, and it would be impossible to move everyone. 

Many have lived who have no memorial. 

* According to The Heritage of Lobo 1820-1990, p. 111. I'd hate to count them all myself.

** William G. Stewart, Nature Rambles, 2000, p. 56-62.